Smouldering Love
by latina.raindrop.and.irish.hart
Summary: A plan to raise Leo's spirits after the war is won, goes in a totally different direction than intended. Pairings include: Percabeth, Thalico, Jasper, and Frazel.
1. Is That You?

**Hiya! Raindrop's back with a brand new project. This idea sprung up on me, and I had to get a running start on it. So, as you guys know… here comes the disclaimer!**

**Leo: She doesn't own me. Or PJO, or HOO or anything really, other than this insane idea. **

***Piper POV* **

Things had been bad since the war ended. I mean, Jason and I were going strong, he'd decided to come to Camp Half Blood, and Percy and Annabeth were here, but planned to move to New Rome after high school was over. We get Iris messages, and visits from Frank and Hazel frequently, the friendship among the seven is as strong as ever. But, Leo… Leo was spiraling steadily into depression. He had conversations with Festus daily, although the dragon didn't speak back to him. He will never have another friend as close as Festus. So, in the heat of the moment, Percy, Annabeth, Jason and I kidnapped the dragon's head, and took it to Thalia's Tree. It was late, and Leo was already sound asleep. We took the fleece from the tree, and laid it over the dragon's head. If this fleece had revived Jason's sister, it could certainly help Festus. We left the head there, on the ground, and made a pact to check on it in the morning.

***Leo POV* **

It was a few weeks after the war had ended, and I had just woken up. I headed out of Bunker Nine in a frantic search for my missing best friend Festus, when I heard a scream that sounded a lot like Rachel up on Half Blood Hill, by Thalia's tree. I ran to the scene, and saw… a girl. She looked about a year or so older than me. She seemed normal enough, she had long bronze colored hair, which shimmered like real metal, and she was wearing a kind of steam punk outfit I guess. She was wearing a metallic dress, bronze just like her hair, and it was plated like scales. She also had bronze boots to go with it. That's when things started getting a bit stranger… I started noticing other things, like how she had a helm on, that looked almost exactly like Festus, the girl also had… wings not large ones, but, they were definitely there. When she opened her eyes though, they were a startling ruby red. Who was this girl? My other friends had arrived at the scene by now also.

"Who… who are you?" Percy asked her. She looked at him, and opened her mouth, confused, but she couldn't speak. She looked at me, and held her tapped in Morse code on the palm of her left hand.

_/I am the one you call… Festus? / _

I blinked, knowing I would be the only one to understand the girl.

"Wait, what?" I was confused.

_/I think that I am the one that you call Festus/ _

"The tapping… is that Morse Code?" Annabeth caught on.

"Yeah, she says she's _Festus_…" I trailed off. Piper gasped.

"Guys," she sounded nervous, "I think she _is _Festus" Everyone took a look at the girl, also noticing her very… dragon-like appearance. I smiled, for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Well, Festus… I'm sure the name I gave you isn't the correct one, so… what's your real name?" I asked her.

_/I am Firenze Bronze, Daughter of Athena/ _she smiled.

"Firenze, that's pretty, and you're a daughter of Athena you say… please, let me show you around," I grinned, holding my hand out for her to take. Her Ruby red eyes stared back at me in wonder, and she took my hand, allowing me to help her up.

"Wait, you're a daughter of Athena? I am too!" Annabeth smiled at Firenze. She rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth, trying to speak again. Her voice cracked, but she ended up speaking, despite herself.

"I know who you are, Annabeth Chase," Firenze grinned at her sister. Her voice was like tinkling wind chimes, delicate. We all looked at her in amazement.

"You can talk!" Jason smiled. Firenze giggled.

"Of course I can Jason," he blinked.

"Do you know all of us?" Piper asked. Firenze nodded.

"Yes. You are Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. That is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. He is Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon. That is my sister, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. She is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi. Your friends in New Rome are Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, Praetor Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona and Praetor Frank Zhang, son of Mars. That boy, he is Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus who never gave up on me," she said, without missing a beat, looking at all of us with her critical ruby red eyes.

"Firenze, pardon my bluntness, but can we ask you some questions?" Annabeth asked her. She nodded, and we all went to the clearing where Zeus' Fist was. We sat in a circle.

"Why does your hair look metallic?" Percy was the first one to ask a question. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs, and shot him a warning glance. Firenze just giggled.

"My dad was a bronze automaton, created by Daedalus," she answered, "One of the angels who guard the Hoover Dam, Hank."

"I'm guessing that's why you have wings then," Annabeth ventured. Firenze nodded.

"That's right!" she confirmed.

"Your eyes, they're ruby red, not grey like most other children of Athena," Rachel pointed out.

"I think that also has to do with the whole, being a kid of an automaton," she answered.

"Can you fly?" Jason wondered aloud. Firenze grinned an impish grin, much like my own occasionally. She stood, and flapped her wings, proportional, angel wings, with bronze feathers. She lifted into the air, ten, fifteen feet and smiled down at us.

"I think I just might be able to do that," she flew in a circle overhead before landing back at my side.

"Wow," Piper looked amazed.

"You know who would love this?" Rachel ventured.

"Thalia, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and Nico?" Firenze guessed.

"Yeah, they would," Percy confirmed.

"I can get them all here within the next two hours," Firenze promised. We all stared in amazement.

"Leo, could you braid my hair? So it doesn't get snagged?" she asked me kindly.

"Um… sure, Metal Head," I gave her a nickname.

"Oh whatever Fire Boy," she rolled her ruby eyes. I separated her hair, and was shocked by the literal metallic quality that it had. It was like bronze trip wire. I quickly braided her hair into an intricate design, even I had no idea I was capable of. She grinned at us.

"So, who am I going to get first?"

**So, I hope you guys like Firenze, cuz she's here to stay. Well, R and R, and come back for more! **

**~Raindrop **


	2. Questing Begins

**Hey, I'm back! I'm not dead, and I really like this new idea.**

**Firenze: She owns me… but not Festus… if that makes any sense.**

**Leo: Of course it doesn't! It's Raindrop. Raindrop also doesn't own me, or any of the other characters who are familiar. **

***Firenze POV* **

"_So, who am I going to get first?"_

I grinned at my newfound friends.

"You have to-" Percy started.

"Get permission first? I know," I confirmed.

"How old are you, Firenze?" Piper asked.

"I'm sixteen," I answered, although I got a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't asking for my _age_, but for the year I was born.

"I think she meant the year you were born…" Percy trailed off. I sighed.

"I kind of figured that, I was born in 1848 The American Civil War started when I was thirteen. I was mortally wounded in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, and even Chiron couldn't heal me at the time, so, when I died, my mother and the god Hephaestus took pity on me, turning me into the bronze dragon automaton," I told them my story. Everyone looked at me in awe. If I had aged as the automaton, I would be one-hundred sixty-six on October 31st this year, but since I hadn't I'll only be seventeen. I smiled, trying to get someone, anyone out of the shock they were experiencing.

"Can you guys get two pegasi ready?" I asked. Everyone nodded, and with that, I flew to the Big House in search of Chiron. He looked up when he heard me step into the main room. His jaw went slack, but he soon, composed himself.

"Firenze? Firenze Bronze?" he questioned, "I haven't seen you since…"

"Since the Civil War?" I smiled.

"Since the Civil War," he confirmed, "How are you here now, child?"

"Piper, Jason, Percy and Annabeth used the Golden Fleece on the automaton's head, hoping to heal it, but instead, I woke up on Half Blood Hill this morning," I told him.

"And what brings you to the Big House, child of Athena?" he wondered.

"I come to ask permission to leave camp in search of Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Nico and Thalia," I announced.

"Granted, child. Would this have anything to do with Mr. Valdez?" Chiron teased.

"Wh- wh- what? No! N- n- never! Wh- why do y-you ask?" I stuttered.

"Because, dear girl, it is not often we have a child of Athena stuttering," he grinned.

"Ok, yes. It has everything to do with Leo. He never gave up on me while I was an automaton…I owe it to him to at least try to cheer him up," I confessed.

"Go, child," Chiron decided. I smiled and bolted out of the Big House, flying towards the stables. When I arrived, I found my new friends standing with two strong looking pegasi.

"Firenze, this is Guido, and this is Porkpie," Percy introduced me to the winged horses.

"Hi Guido! Hi Porkpie! Are you guys ready for an adventure?" I asked them. They whinnied what I assumed was a yeas.

"Ok guys, one of you will carry me, one of you will carry Leo, and Percy could you and Blackjack come along? An equine translator would be useful," I asked. Annabeth looked concerned, but everyone agreed. Porkpie came up to me, and I mounted him as Percy and Leo mounted Blackjack and Guido respectively. We rose into the air and faced west.

"Ok, boys. To Camp Jupiter!" Percy called to the pegasi. And with that, we were off. The pegasi started flying, and the world stretched before it went black. When I could see again, we were in the Field of Mars, at Camp Jupiter.

"That was fast…" Leo trailed off. I smiled against my better judgment. There was something about him… he made me happy. I don't know what it was. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I'm his best friend. Or at least, before he knew I was me…We dismounted, and the horses grazed in the field.

"I'll whistle if I need you guys, ok?" Percy told the horses. They whinnied in response. I looked at the camp. It was just how I remembered it a few months ago. Minus the battle scars. Soon, a large eagle landed beside us, then it transformed and I recognized Praetor Frank Zhang.

"Leo, Percy, Hazel and Reyna will be excited to see you! Who do we have here?" he observed me.

"Hi, I'm Firenze Bronze. You may know me better as Festus, the dragon masthead," I smiled at him, and shook his hand. His eyes widened.

"You mean you were an actual person?" he asked, bewildered. I nodded.

"Yes, Frank, but, you mentioned Hazel and Reyna, where are they?"

"Up by the cohorts," he blinked, leading us to the bunks. When we got there, Hazel spotted us immediately, and ran up to hug Percy and Leo around the neck.

"Guys!" she was elated. Then she seemed to take notice of me.

"You're bronze…" she looked at me with confusion.

"Yeah, this is Firenze, Firenze Bronze. Do you guys know each other?" Leo asked.

"No, I mean, she's made of bronze… partially… her hair… it's like trip wires," she muttered.

"I used to be Festus, the masthead on the Argo II," I explained.

"Really?" a new, yet familiar voice popped up. Reyna was standing to the left of Hazel, with Argentum and Agrium by her sides.

"Yes, Reyna, why don't your pets attack me if it weren't the case?" I laughed. She smiled, and looked like a normal person for once.

"So, Firenze needs you guys at Camp Half Blood," Leo said.

"Yes," I confirmed, "Reyna, you can ride Porkpie, and Hazel, Arion is all yours. Frank… you may want to turn into an eagle, or a Pegasus of something."

"Ok, what about you, Percy, and Leo?" Hazel asked. I grinned.

"We're looking for Thalia Grace, and your brother, Nico," I told her.

"Nico is visiting dad right now…" she trailed off. I smiled.

"Thanks for letting us know!" I grinned. Suddenly, something hostile grew behind me… someone had a weapon.

"Leo!" I shouted, Embracing him and covering him with my wings. I felt it as the Imperial Gold weapon bounced harmlessly against my wings.

"OCTAVIAN!" both praetors shouted. I opened my wings and looked the Augur dead in the eyes. My voice was deathly calm.

"Son of Apollo, I am Firenze Bronze, the daughter of Athena, and an automaton. I can kill you in so many ways, with little things up my sleeve, that it's not even funny. Put your weapon on the ground, back away slowly and don't touch my friends," I glared at him.

_/Firenze, calm/ _Leo tapped in Morse Code. I blinked.

_/We can still have private Morse Code conversations?/ _I asked him, not taking my eyes off Octavian.

_/Of course we can! You're my best friend, whether you're a human or a dragon!/ _I smiled at that. I looked away from the son of Apollo for a split second, but it was enough time for the weasel to grab his sword and jab at me, Leo blocked the strike, getting hit with the sword in the stomach.

"LEO!" everyone shouted, but I was certainly the loudest. I lunged at the Augur, and got him into a choke hold.

"I told you not to do that," I squeezed his neck with my arm, while Frank and Hazel got Leo to the infirmary. Reyna and Percy stayed.

"Firenze, calm down," Percy was saying.

"Octavian, you are now exiled from New Rome, that is, if the automaton doesn't murder you before you have a chance," Reyna was fuming.

"Can't. Breathe," Octavian made little choking sounds, that were music to my ears. I squeezed harder, making his eyes roll into the back of his head as he passed out.

"Firenze, don't kill him!" Percy looked almost horrified.

"He hurt Leo!" I growled. Percy and Reyna now both had a look of understanding.

"Firenze, do you… love Leo?" Reyna asked me gently. I let go of the son of Apollo, looking at the female Praetor like a cornered animal.

"Don't tell him!" I begged. She wore a poker face, as did Percy. I dropped to my knees.

"Please, don't tell him…" I was nearly in tears, "I'm not ready for him to reject me just yet…" Percy looked me dead in the eye.

"We won't tell him," he announced. Reyna nodded, approving of this declaration.

"We shan't tell him, but now, let's visit him in the infirmary," Reyna kicked the son of Apollo with disdain. I followed the two of them eagerly to the infirmary.

**So, I hope you guys like Firenze, cuz she's here to stay. Well, R and R, and come back for more! **

**~Raindrop **


End file.
